U.S.-born baby found dead in empty Tijuana parking lot as mother flees country

TIJUANA, MEXICO - MAY 04: The U.S.-Mexico border fence divides Tijuana (L) and the U.S. (R) in the early morning hours May 4, 2006 in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexican President Vicente Fox refused to sign a bill that would legalize the personal use of drugs and narcotics. The law would have been among the world's most permissive. On May 2, Fox's spokesman pledged the president would sign it but on May 3, hours after U.S. officials warned the plan could encourage "drug tourism?, the president sent the measure back to Congress for changes, prompting the Mexican media to accuse Fox of bowing to U.S. pressure. The law would have allowed possession of personal amounts of drugs by anyone 18 or older, including cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD, marijuana, heroin, opium, and more than 2 pounds of peyote, the hallucinogenic cactus used in native religious ceremonies. In the last 18 months, more than 1,000 people have been killed in escalating violence over smuggling routes to the U.S. Police and journalists have also become increasingly frequent targets, with automatic weapons and explosives becoming common tools of the trade. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
(2006 Getty Images)

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Despite never meeting his baby boy, Joany Aguirre was heartbroken after learning that his 7-month-old son's body was found wrapped in a blanket in a Mexican parking lot.

Aguirre told FOX 5 he was shocked that his son Elliot's body was found in a Tijuana parking lot 21 days after he had died — and that his son's mother Jazmin Villalobos and her boyfriend had returned to San Diego without saying anything about it.

Villalobos' family contacted Chula Vista police on August 31 to report that Elliot was missing. Police questioned Villalobos and her boyfriend, who were living in San Diego. The pair initially did not say anything about Elliot's death until they were pressed by officers, authorities said.

Villalobos eventually told CVPD detectives that her son Elliot died from an accidental fall while she and her boyfriend were in Mexico, authorities said. The couple apparently panicked out of fear of being arrested by Tijuana police, wrapped him in a blanket and left him in the lot, according to investigators.

The couple was turned over to Tijuana police where they led them to Elliot's body, Aguirre said.

"There were 21 days of running around San Diego — that's enough time for them to say something," Aguirre said.

Aguirre blames Villalobos and her boyfriend for keeping him apart from his baby boy.

"I wanted to be there for him, but she just wouldn't let me," Aguirre said. "I trusted her. She put it in my head that she was going to take care of that baby and love the baby forever."

An autopsy was underway and the results could take up to 15 days to be released. If the boy's death is ruled not an accident, police could extradite Villalobos and her boyfriend to Mexico to face charges.